Press Club Academy Programme Director Sergei Yakupov was detained on December 22, 2020, the same day as the Press Club founder Yuliya Slutskaya, Financial Director Sergey Olshevski, Programme Director Alla Sharko and cameraman Peter Slutsky. Sergei's brutal detention took place at his flat in the presence of his wife and child, and included the confiscation of all electronic items.
For about a day neither the lawyers, nor the relatives of the detainees could find out where they were. They resurfaced at the FID, Financial Investigations Department of the State Control Committee, then they were transported to the detention facility in Okrestsina. And on December 24, it emerged that all the detainees were suspects in a criminal case under Part 2 of Article 243 of the Criminal Code (grand tax evasion) and would be taken into custody at a detention facility.
On December 31, 2020 Sergei Yakupov was released and deported to Russia with prohibition of entry in Belarus for 10 years. He was not charged. All the other detained Press Club employees are now at Detention Facility No. 1 in Minsk, charged with grand tax evasion.
Sergei shared the details of his detainment, his time spent at a detention facility and of his deportation.